|
U-Know! Forum » What's Joe Biden like? |
Log In to post a reply
|
|
|
|
|
|
Topic View: Flat | Threaded |
Merrick 2148 posts |
Aug 24, 2008, 01:10
|
||
|
A roundup of reaction and background to Joe Biden, Barack Obama's newly announced running mate. As in potential vice-president, not jogging partner. http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/8/23/154617/264
|
|||
stray 2057 posts |
Edited Aug 26, 2008, 13:16
Aug 26, 2008, 13:12
|
||
|
Also prone to coming out with incredible gaffes regarding race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll_goH-aivU Also, during the candidate race when asked about obama he said “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American presidential candidate who is articulate and bright and clean-cut and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man,” Though he probably didnt mean that badly I think we'll be seeing the republicans using it negatively. I'm not american, but like most europeans I'm taking an unprecedented amount of interest in this presidential campaign. Completely unrelated, but this cheered me up no end http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9jHWjLklzE The BS version from fox here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWJF1tXyt38&NR=1 Edit : I found the quote
|
|||
zphage 3378 posts |
Aug 26, 2008, 15:22
|
||
Biden famously plagiarised Neil Kinnock in 1987, which is now being revisited.
|
|||
handofdave 3515 posts |
Aug 26, 2008, 16:13
|
||
|
I think at this point the Democrats are just keeping their fingers crossed that no more tabloid love child headlines hit the stands. Biden's an established figure with a relatively unblemished career. But most importantly, and I am showing my cynicism here, he is a white male. Obama's campaign is faced with a big block of reluctant party members who, frankly, are either bitter about Hillary or unwilling to carry their civil rights beliefs to the point of electing a black man president. I'm guessing the outright racist demographic is almost all a republican phenomonon, but I wouldn't bet on it. There's a lot of latent racism in the liberal north, believe me. My wife sees it all the time working in Amherst, Massachusetts- Ostensibly a bastion of liberal causes, but pretty fucking bourgeois when you peek under the surface... the disdain for the underclass emerges in coded language and whispers. And then, of course, ironically, there's the racism and ignorance of a large percent of the poor. American politics have been carrying around the heavy burden of 15th-19th century slavery and its aftermath, not to mention the ghosts of millions of Native Americans killed or displaced by European expansion. It's a nation founded on violence, and yet much of the violence it's wrought thru history has not come home to roost. 9/11, as horrible as it was, was nowhere near the scale of the citywide carnage of WW2, and yet some Americans seem galvanized to the point of madness by it, seeking vengeance far beyond the limits of what is rational. It's also a nation that's still got very tangible North-South-East-West-Center cultural divisions. It's not unlike the UK in that way, though we also have the very large Spanish-influenced component. But both our cultures are internationalist, and welcome to immigration and accept the sometimes awkward realities that come with it. It's a strength, but it comes with challenges. Perhaps the dynamism of being in a culture that actively reinvents and expands itself makes for sketchy politics but ultimately creates a stronger overall society? OK, I'm really off topic now, sorry..
|
|||
|
stray 2057 posts |
Edited Aug 26, 2008, 16:29
Aug 26, 2008, 16:27
|
||
|
I thought he was selected so he could attack the republicans (something Biden is very, very good at) while Obama gets to keep his image clean. I didn't consider the race thing. Anyway, its all a bit odd to us non-US that the other name on the ticket is that important as the VP doesn't have any powers at all, unless Obama dies of course. Although, yeah, there does seem to be a worryingly large amount of US liberals convinced that Obama will get assassinated. What bugs me about the Obama campaign thus far is it's drift towards the middle ground away from its original platform. Of course, it was (as all democratic policy) hardly left wing by out of US standards, but it was carrying a lot of the more of what are considered the extreme left wing voters than usual for a democratic candidacy. Now they're pissed, particularly by the FISA vote. Didnt Biden vote against that ? Theres a myth in world politics about the 'third way' that cites the success of the UK labour party as its example. This is bollocks, the reason Labour won and have held power for so long is primarily a result of the Tory party becoming completely fucking insane and totally unelectable. The fact that the two parties here are becoming indistinguishable will pretty much guarantee that the Tories have more than a good shout of winning next time round. Whereas our left wing voters are more than likely going to still vote for the lesser evil, the impression I get of the activist left wing voters in the US is that they'll protect their principals over all other things and vote for some completely unelectable independant rather than sacrificing their beliefs for Obama. Obviously I'm no expert, if my analysis is totally wrong please correct me.
|
|||
|
handofdave 3515 posts |
Aug 26, 2008, 18:00
|
||
|
stray wrote: I thought he was selected so he could attack the republicans (something Biden is very, very good at) while Obama gets to keep his image clean. True enough as well. Biden was a strategic choice. stray wrote: Anyway, its all a bit odd to us non-US that the other name on the ticket is that important as the VP doesn't have any powers at all, unless Obama dies of course. Well, we've seen in the last eight years how a VP can throw his weight around the White House. Bush would be lost without Dick Cheney... It's arguable that it's actually the former Halliburton CEO who's been in charge for the last eight years, not Bush. stray wrote: What bugs me about the Obama campaign thus far is it's drift towards the middle ground away from its original platform. Of course, it was (as all democratic policy) hardly left wing by out of US standards, but it was carrying a lot of the more of what are considered the extreme left wing voters than usual for a democratic candidacy. Now they're pissed, particularly by the FISA vote. Didnt Biden vote against that ? It's Bill Clinton all over again. stray wrote: Theres a myth in world politics about the 'third way' that cites the success of the UK labour party as its example. This is bollocks, the reason Labour won and have held power for so long is primarily a result of the Tory party becoming completely fucking insane and totally unelectable. The fact that the two parties here are becoming indistinguishable will pretty much guarantee that the Tories have more than a good shout of winning next time round. The Republican party here have been completely insane and unelectable... by my standards. But clearly, there are plenny'O voters out there who put the present administration in... twice... and would again. And they just might do it with McCain, it's a real possibility. Americans are not the most rational people. I hate to admit it, but it's true. stray wrote: Whereas our left wing voters are more than likely going to still vote for the lesser evil, the impression I get of the activist left wing voters in the US is that they'll protect their principals over all other things and vote for some completely unelectable independant rather than sacrificing their beliefs for Obama. Obviously I'm no expert, if my analysis is totally wrong please correct me. It's not as true now as it was in the 2000 election, when Nader took away the deciding percent that would have put Gore in office. Except for all but the most militant lefties, that is regarded now as a monumental fuck up that shouldn't be repeated.
|
|||
|
zphage 3378 posts |
Aug 26, 2008, 18:09
|
||
|
Obama gaffed when he introduced Biden as future President. Denver Police have just caught 3 Billy Bobs looking to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights at the Convention.
|
|||
|
Merrick 2148 posts |
Sep 01, 2008, 23:30
|
||
|
The same folks give details of the environmental record of McCain's potential deputy, Sarah Palin http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/8/29/83614/5859
|
|||
laresident 861 posts |
Sep 02, 2008, 04:48
|
||
What a nightmare. Potentially a heartbeat away from becoming president. I thought we had seen it all with Bush.
|
| U-Know! Forum Index |
